Shortly after I agreed to write this review, I thought to myself, "What on Earth did you get yourself into". This is the first time that I have approached a symphonic masterpiece, but strangely enough I am hoping that it is not my last. While I have been reviewing music for years, this is my debut for this genre. Therefore, please excuse any jagged edges that may be exposed once the dust settles.

Howard Shore is a name that stands out within the classical music genre. In fact, he began his career in 1975 on Saturday Night Live and since then has been an integral keystone for creating the atmosphere in several projects. For instance, Shore has an impressive list of films that he has been a part of, such as: Philadelphia, The Client, The Truth about Cats and Dogs, Dogma, The Cell, High Fidelity, The Fellowship of the Ring, Panic Room, etc. While all of those titles form an impressive filmography, Shore has at least one other title to add to his list; The Two Towers. The Two Towers is on target to be labeled his best yet and for good reason....

****
NOTE: There seems to be a few versions of this soundtrack in the process of being shipped, however, I have only received one of the three. The copy that I received contains 19 tracks spanning over 72 minutes of total play time.
****

Shore is not only credited with the composing of this masterpiece, but he is also credited with the orchestrating and conducting of this track list. I mention that in order to express the desire and passion that Shore has for his love of making music or maybe his music of love making, either way Shore is not short of brilliant. After learning that Shore becomes so involved with his 'work', I found myself intrigued to listen, to face his music with respect, to take something from his music that many listeners will never notice. Throughout my time listening to this specific set of tracks I constantly felt Shore painting vivid pictures in my mind. His music was awe inspiring, yet contained a feeling of normalcy. Shore had written several mini masterpieces from the perspective of his listeners, while adding his own personal embellishment.

TLOTR - The Two Towers Soundtrack is a majestic ride through the countryside that involves every emotion known to man. From aggression and outrage to heart-felt cries of yearning, Shore seems more than capable of expressing each with perfection. While this soundtrack may sound like any other dramatic soundtrack to you, I urge you to dig deeper and experience the music as if you were playing the role of the hero or villain. While Shores efforts flow in the background (during the film) the music enhances the picture adding a shadow of fullness; a shadow that often gets left behind. I am not about to claim that TLOTR would be less than excellent without the music of Shore, however, the music that he has written compliments the film, adding depth and taking the individual emotion beyond imagination.

In contrast, the soundtrack has extremely high potential to exist without the presence of the film. I find myself listening to the complete 19 tracks, while I sit alone thinking and wondering. During the exciting stanzas I found myself running and floating throughout the apartment playing the hero, imagining myself victorious and fleeing from the recent bloodshed. At times I would snap back into reality only to notice that I was standing on the tabletop slinging a broom handle from side to side. Ok, that isn’t true, but in all honesty I did find myself engrossed in the music to the extent of imagining certain situations and scenarios. The soundtrack as a whole is exciting, to those who are willing to give it a fair chance. I must admit that the album isn’t an album that will find my CD player daily, but on occasion I could see myself listening consistently. I would classify this as one of those mood CDs that we all have in our collection (assuming that you actually buy CDs). TLOTR soundtrack is a disc that will impress you upon first glance, but will return to your shelf a few hours later. As far as quality/sound is concerned I would rate this as a 5 planet album, however, once reality sets in and you return this album to its proper spot on the shelf, you will realize that this album is nothing more than a once a month mood setting disc. For that I have to bump the rating down to 4 Planets...simply because this album has such a low replay-ability value.

Conclusive Rating:
Presentation – 5 Planets
Depth – 4 Planets
Replay – 1 Planet
Style – 4 Planets
Sound – 4.5 Planets
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Overall – 4 Planets

This may be the only 4 planet album in your collection that sees one full length play per month. The rating simply goes to show that the quality aspect can see through the ever so important lines of the replay-ability factor….only Shore’s music can do that.

Track Listing:
01.Foundations Of Stone
02.The Taming Of Smeagol
03.The Riders Of Rohan
04.The Passage Of The Marshes
05.The Uruk-Hai
06.The King Of The Golden Hall
07.The Black Gate Is Closed
08.Evenstar (with Isabel Bayrakdarian)
09.The White Rider
10.Treebeard
11.The Leave Taking
12.Helm's Deep
13.The Forbidden Pool
14.Breath Of Life (with Sheila Chandra)
15.The Hornburg
16.Forth Eorlingas (with Ben Del Maestro)
17.Isengard Unleashed (with E. Fraser - B. De
18.Samwise The Brave
19.Gollum's Song (by Emiliana Torrini)

Ramz Rating:  4 out of 5 Planets


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